The unhappy result of this outcry on the part of those whose occupation would be gone, and who would be compelled to resort to honest industry should Ireland become peaceful and prosperous, was the passing of Mr. Birrell's "amending" Bill, which has practically stopped for the present the beneficent working of the Wyndham Act of 1903. Under the various purchase Acts over 180,000 Irish farmers have become the owners of their holdings, thanks to over one hundred millions of public money advanced on Imperial credit for the purpose. The first task of a Unionist government, when again in power, must be the resumption of this policy of State-aided land-purchase—the only completely and unquestionably successful and pacifying piece of agrarian legislation in the history of English rule in Ireland.
Other writers will give, later on, a more detailed account of various branches of Unionist practical policy in Ireland. The story of the Congested Districts Board, Mr. Arthur Balfour's special work, is a romance in itself. So well, in fact, has it accomplished its immediate task that the time has probably come when it could with advantage be merged in the later-created Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction. This department, which has been linked up with the County or Borough Councils, by the legislation of Mr. Gerald Balfour, has done an immense amount of educational and practical work in connection with agriculture in all its branches, including dairying, poultry rearing, fruit-growing, and other rural industries, not to speak of technical instruction in matters suited for artisans and town workers.
These remarkable achievements, the work of successive Unionist Governments from 1896 to 1906, have revolutionised the face of the country, and are bringing about a new Ireland. The chief danger now lies in the intrigues of discredited politicians, whose object is to divert the eyes of the people from practical, remedial, and constructive legislation, and to keep them fixed upon what Mr. John Morley has called "the phantom of Irish legislative independence."
FOOTNOTES:
[3] J.R. Green, "Short History," chap. ix. sec. 8.
[4] "Dict. Nat. Biog.," sub.-tit. "Erskine, John, Earl of Mar," p. 430.
[5] "England," says Mr. James Bryce in his Introduction to "Two Centuries of Irish History," "acted as conquering nations do act, and better than some nations of that age."
[6] Wogan to Swift, Feb. 27th, 1732.
[7] Swift, "The Legion Club."
[8] "Life of Macartney," vol. ii, p. 136.
[9] "Tour in Ireland," vol. ii., p. 123 ff.
[10] Hamilton Rowan's "Autobiography," p. 340.
[11] "Wealth of Nations," Book V., Chap. III.
[12] "The End of the Irish Parliament," 1911, Edward Arnold.
[13] "Edmund Burke, a Historical Study," by John Morley, pp. 286 ff.
[14] "Pitt," by Lord Rosebery, p. 155.
[15] From the official returns embodied in "A Statement to the Prime Minister," Irish Loyal and Patriotic Union, Dublin, 1886.
[16] "Ireland from the Union to Catholic Emancipation," by D. A. Chart, M.A. A most valuable and instructive work.
[17] It is, I hope, no reflection on the memory of an eminent public servant to suggest that in this, as in too many of the estimated figures contained in his evidence before the Commission, and upon which the Majority Report of the Commission was largely based, Sir Robert seriously under-estimated the resources of Ireland. It is obvious when the ascertained figures of 1910 are compared with the estimated figures of 1895 that Sir Robert Giffen must have been several millions below the truth. The steady nature of the growth of Irish commerce is shown by the following figures taken from the Official Report for the year ended December 31, 1910.
| Imports, | Exports, | Total, | |
| Mill. £. | Mill. £. | Mill. £. | |
| 1904 | 54 | 49 | 103 |
| 1905 | 55 | 51 | 106 |
| 1906 | 57 | 56 | 113 |
| 1907 | 61 | 59 | 120 |
| 1908 | 59 | 57 | 116 |
| 1909 | 63 | 61 | 124 |
| 1910 | 65 | 65 | 130 |
[18] "A History of the Commercial Relations between Great Britain and Ireland," by Alice E. Murray, D.Sc.
[19] Sept. 26, 1871.
CRITICAL
III
THE CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTION